Salvos (A Monster Evolution LitRPG)

28.2. Liar Liar, I Make Fire

I inspected a flower sprouting out from a bush. There were dozens of buds protruding from it, but only a single one had become a flower. I used [Identification] on it, confirming that the others had not become flowers yet. Only the one with the lilac spread wide open telling me that it was a [Flower].

I grabbed it, peering inside of the plant. I saw the way the petals folded— or could have folded— and turned to one of the buds. I gripped the closed flower with my clawed hands and pried it open.

I ripped the petals off the bud by accident, tearing it apart, and watched as my [Identification] stopped working on it.

I… I killed it…

I didn’t mean to attack it! It was just so… fragile. I thought I could turn it into a [Flower] from a [Flower Bud], but I killed it!

I stepped back, aghast. Am I a wild Demon? I looked at my clawed hands, staring at the pieces shredded pieces of petal stuck on my long nails. No— I didn’t mean to…

Then I paused, realizing I hadn’t gained any experience for the kill. I hadn’t attacked it for no reason just to evolve. I simply let my curiosity get the better of me and killed it by accident.

I shrugged.

That means I’m not a wild Demon then. Good!

I glanced up, relieved at this, and relieved at seeing the sun rise above the horizon. I looked over at Edithe and Daniel, sleeping under the hovering [Ice Elemental] as she watched over them. I shouted.

“Wake up! It’s time to go!”

The two jumped out of their beds, grabbing for their weapons.

“Wh— huh?”

“What’s going on? An attack?”

I stood in front of the two, hands on my hips like one of those women I had seen standing at the side of the streets of Hazelbury, talking in a loud voice to some shorter Humans. I grinned.

“No attack. It’s morning.”

They blinked, exchanging a glance. I simply gestured past them.

“Come on, it’s time to go! The Dungeon is waiting for us!”

Daniel sighed and Edithe rubbed at her temples.

“Salvos, the Dungeon is that way.”

“Huh.”

I turned around and corrected myself.

“Let’s go! This way to the Dungeon!”

They shook their heads, but said nothing else. Instead, they slowly got up and began packing up their things. Soon enough, we were off and headed to the Silkfall’s Crevice Dungeon.

We trudged through the foliage, eventually exiting the forest and back onto a road— a different road. Edithe led the way as we followed behind her; we had given her the map, since apparently she was the one who was most familiar with Falisfield.

Daniel had been in Hazelbury for a few months, but he did not study the geography of the area before he arrived. Meanwhile, Edithe had only been here for a month, however she actually had to learn of the different cities, towns, and places of note before she came. Learning that information was necessary for why she came here.

She glanced back at the Human man as he wiped at his forehead.

“You alright?”

“I’m fine— it’s just a little bit hot. That’s all.”

“Here, I’ll help you. Mistshard.”

The Human woman nodded at her Spirit. The [Elemental] flew closer to Daniel, before suddenly emanating a cold aura that I could feel even from where I was walking. I grasped at my shoulders, turning to the Spirit.

“That’s cold.”

“Apologies. As a Demon with an affinity to fire, I know this makes you uncomfortable. However I am not skilled or high leveled enough to concentrate my cold aura to only Daniel. I suggest you put some distance between us to get away from the cold.”

Edithe had already told Mistshard and Druma of me being a Demon; contrary to what Daniel had been afraid of, neither Spirits cared that I was a Demon. Maybe they would have if Edithe had a problem with it, but otherwise, they treated me the same way they treated Daniel.

We eventually reached a fork in the road and made a right, heading uphill to a mountain range in the distance. We continued on that path for a bit, cresting up the first hill. We found ourselves in flat ground before immediately deviating from the road, making a hard left.

“It should be somewhere here. That’s what the map says, at least.”

“Is it a cave? We should keep a lookout for any entrances if that’s the case.”

Daniel supplied the suggestion.

“No, it’s not. It’s a crevice. A hole in the ground. Just keep a lookout for it— and don’t fall into one. So watch your step.”

The Human woman didn’t exactly say my name, but I felt like she was talking to me by the way she looked over at me. I nodded, before my eyes fixated on something.

“Is that it?”

I pointed in the direction of the thin wrinkle on the ground, quite a distance away. The two Humans squinted, trying to see what I had mentioned. Edithe frowned.

“I… think it is. Good spot, Salvos. How did you catch that?”

I smiled back at her.

“My [Identification] is at Level 4. It helps me see better, I think.”

“Well, that’s not exactly how it works. But that is a high level, especially considering your age. Although I feel like I should mention that most people don’t just reveal their levels and Skills. It’s considered private information.”

“Why’s that?”

“I’ll explain it to you next time.”

Edithe turned back to the crevice as we reached it. She peeked over the edge, glancing down the dark hole. She held out a hand and sent a small ball of flame tumbling down the ravine.

“That is deep.”

She looked over at us and held up her hands.

“I don’t think any of us can make that jump. And I wasn’t exactly prepared to leave Hazelbury when we were chased out. We might have to go to a nearby town to buy some rope.”

“Rope?”

I cocked my head. I immediately protested, wanting to enter the Dungeon as soon as possible.

“Why can’t we just climb down?”

“It’s too dangerous. For me, at least. And Daniel too, maybe. If he was a higher leveled [Warrior], he could probably make it down with just his [Strength] or [Vitality] alone.”

She shook her head.

“These are risks I’d rather neither of us take. Sorry Salvos. I know you’re excited to enter a Dungeon for the first time, but our safety comes first.”

I wanted to argue even more— what if the town didn’t have rope? What if the Iron Champions Company finds us in the town? What if Lucerna dies while we’re wasting our time on getting rope? There were so many things I wanted to say, but I couldn’t say any of it because Daniel piped up.

“I have rope.”

Edithe stared at him.

“You do?”

“Yeah. In my bag right here.”

He held up his bag, pulling out a thick rope— strands of string were twisted and tied together to form it. He glanced around and walked up to a rock, beginning to tie the rope onto it.

I watched in shock as the rope kept coming out of the bag. There was so much rope! And it was all kept in that tiny bag!

“How is that possible?”

I spoke softly. Edithe looked over at me.

“How is what possible?”

“That! How does he keep all that in his bag?! What kind of magic is that?”

“Oh that?”

She laughed, putting a hand on her mouth as she did.

“You’re confused about that?”

I stared at her, feeling my face heat up a little. I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t exactly like how she was laughing at me.

“What’s wrong?”

I eyed her with crossed arms. Edithe waved a hand, wiping a tear from her eye with the other as she replied.

“It’s nothing— you really are like a child, huh? That’s not magic. Well, what Daniel is doing isn’t magic. It’s just rope in a normal bag. All he did was roll it up so it would fit.”

Blinking, I carefully looked at how the rope slid out of the bag. Certainly it seemed like it was being unraveled as Daniel pulled it out. But—

“Then how about your bag? You were able to keep all those weapons and armor in it!”

“That’s different. That was a Bag of Holding— a storage item. It does have magic in it. But Daniel’s does not.”

I slowly nodded. Daniel pulled out the rest of the rope and finished tying it on the rock as I scratched the side of my head.

“...can I take a look at it?”

“My Bag of Holding? Sure. It’s only Low Grade. Some basic space magic. Which is actually quite difficult for [Mages] to cast at a lower level. But still Low Grade.”

I put a hand out, however Edithe glanced over at Daniel.

“I’ll show it to you later. I told you, I didn’t bring it with me because I was not prepared to leave. Come on, you want to enter the Dungeon, right? I think he’s done.”

Sure enough, the Human man called out for us a moment later. I deflated just for a moment when Edithe pulled the bag away from me, but jumped up and ran to Daniel when he said he was done.

“It’s finished? We can enter the Dungeon now?”

“Yeah. We have to be careful though. We don’t know what’s down there. I’ve heard it might be a Gold Ranked Dungeon.”

“That’s right. We need to set up camp here too, with some traps in case we need to quickly escape. And I still have to summon Druma. It’ll take a while.”

I frowned, glancing between the two Humans as more delays popped up. Then I had an idea.

“Why don’t I go down there first, then?”

Daniel raised a brow.

“It’s dangerous—”

“It’s fine, I’ll just take a look around. We want to be prepared, right? I’m fast so I can probably escape whatever is down there. I escaped Lucerna and he’s at this ‘Gold Ranked’ level, remember? I’ll just see what monsters there are and go back up.”

He hesitated, looking between me and the hole in the ground. He turned back to Edithe.

“Should we let her?”

“I don’t see why not. She’s capable of defending herself. We’re not her carers. And it’s just a quick look, right?”

Daniel sighed, looking back at me.

“Fine. But promise me you won’t attack any monster down there.”

I smiled innocently at them.

“Of course. I promise I won'tattack any monsters without a reason.”

He shook his head, walking up to the rope and held it up for me.

“Come on, I’ll lower you down.”

I jumped up, excitedly running up to it and firmly gripped it.

“Yay! Hurry it up!”

I held on tight to the rope as he slowly released it, lowering me further and further down to the crevice below. I held up a hand, creating a small ball of fire to illuminate my path. I looked up, seeing the daylight from above slowly disappear as the words flashed in my head.

Now Entering [Dungeon: Silkfall’s Crevice].

I grinned to myself. Heh, I promised I won’t attack any monsters without reason. But if a monster attacks me, I’ll have no choice but to fight back.